Kingdom Keepers: The Angel Experiment
by the.ktgrace
Summary: When the flock flies into the Magic Kingdom on their way to Itex, a quick stop becomes a surprise extended stay. The Keepers are told to approach these newcomers as allies, to help them defeat the Overtakers. But can these very-different teams unite against a greater foe than ever before?
1. Chapter 1

**FINN:**

He was sitting in his math class when it happened.

Trying to pay attention to the teacher, Finn Whitman couldn't help but notice something from the corner of his eye. Turning to the window, he could just make out a handful of figures soaring against the cloudless Florida sky. At first, he assumed they were just large birds, maybe some hawk or falcon.

But, as he squinted out of the glass, he noticed how they seemed to be too big. They were way too big to be any ordinary birds, and weren't shaped right.

Seeing his boring teacher, Ms. Decker, still facing the whiteboard, he slowly rose from his seat on the side of the classroom, craning to get a better view from the windows beside him. He could almost see…

"Finn? Please sit back down." Decker's voice was barely heard by Finn, who was preoccupied with his own observation.

"There's something out there, something big," Finn muttered to himself, not really for anyone else to hear.

"Mr. Whitman!" Decker's voice was much louder now, and he spun around. The old woman looked very frustrated, her saggy cheeks were puffed out and her eyes were fierce. "Sit down, Finn. Now, or you'll have detention."

Finn was an easy student who'd never had behavior issues at school; the most he'd ever been guilty of was being tardy. By now, the entire class was staring at him. He sat down gently, keeping a blank expression and his eyes on Decker.

"And what," asked Decker in a rude tone, "was the meaning of your disruptive little stunt, Finn Whitman?"

_All I did was stand up_, thought Finn, thankfully keeping his thoughts to himself. "I saw something outside the window, but it was too large to be a bird."

"That would be a _cloud_, Mr. Whitman," Decker said sarcastically. A few snickers rang throughout the classroom from the other students.

Finn felt color rise to his cheeks. "They weren't clouds, I know what he saw," he whispered to himself, shaking his head slightly. They looked like… like flying humans, some sort of strange angels.

From across the room, Finn spotted one person who wasn't looking at him like he was crazy: Amanda. Her eyes were gentle, but curious.

What _did _he see?

**MAX:**

The air became noticeably warmer as we descended, like it usually did. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, which made for tricky visibility issues. I mean, we're good, but six flying birdkids don't easily go unnoticed.

I kept my eyes down, purposefully trying not to look at Fang. Or Nudge, for that matter. Basically, I didn't look at anyone.

Nudge had the ultimate weapon, that little slug. Her Bambi eyes were something of legend; they put Puss in Boots to shame. Big time. It takes a heart of titanium to refuse her when she's got the Bambi eyes going. Luckily, she doesn't use them too often. I think I put the fear of God into her with my temper, so she knows not to test me.

I could sense Fang's dark, silent wings beside me, wiener. Judging me because I succumbed to the Bambi eyes. And yet, why did we have Total in the first place? Thank you, Fang.

I wanted to speed ahead, to hurtle towards the ground below, but I knew that would be a recipe for disaster. Disney World was _the worst_ place for a family of mutant birdkids to take a day-trip. The whole place was fenced in, filled with tourists, and laced with more security cameras than Iggy and Gazzy had explosives. The last thing I needed was my ever-obedient Flock to disappear and ditch me for cotton candy.

I dropped onto a sand-colored roof, somewhere in backstage Magic Kingdom. Ducking, I hurried behind an air-conditioning unit and motioned for my Flock to follow. Once I heard five pairs of feet land beside me, I turned.

"Listen to me," I whispered, "We cannot stay for long, just until nighttime. This place is crawling with people and, given our history with blending in, we'll be lucky to last until nighttime. What are our priorities?"

"Pirates of the Caribbean!" Total's furry paw shot up in the air, and he triumphantly sneered at the others. Have you ever _seen_ a terrier sneer? True Disney magic.

"Splash Mountain!" Gazzy grinned, "There's this giant drop, almost straight down."

"_Have you found your Laughing Place?_" Iggy imitated a cartoon's voice, sending the two into giggles. I guess TV really does turn your brain to mush.

"Do I dare ask, Nudge?" She looked ready to burst from excitement.

"I wanna go to Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, It's a Small World, Jungle Cruise, Enchanted Tiki Room, meet the Princesses, meet Mickey, meet…"

"Slow down, there! Priorities, Nudge!"

"The day is young and there's magic in the air," said Total, overdramatic weirdo. "We'll have plenty of time if we start now."

"If you command, Total," I muttered, and the six of us kicked off from the roof into the trees. Soon, we could make out the sparkling gates and a sign reading "Magic Kingdom".

"Ready for teacups, Max?" Fang asked teasingly, prodding me with his elbow as I folded my wings and pulled over my windbreaker.

"Shut up, or I will personally buy you one of those Goofy hats." I pointed towards a cart with tall, striped hats with floppy ears.

"You think I'd actually wear that, Max?"

"I'll nail it to your skull."

"Where would you get the nails?"

"I'll… I'll buy those too."


	2. Chapter 2

**FINN:**

"What was that all about?" As Finn stood at his locker, shoving his books inside for lunch, he heard Amanda's curious voice behind him.

"Math class?"

"Yes, math class. You saw something, Finn. What was it?"

He slammed his locker shut and turned, Amanda following. Swerving towards a deserted corner of the hallway, he spoke. "They were big, Amanda, too big to be any bird or airplane. They looked… looked almost like humans, flying." He paused, "Could they possibly be Fairlies?"

"I don't know, Finn. Fairlies have too many talents to keep track of, and I've never met another who could levitate or fly."

Finn contradicted himself, "No, maybe they're not Fairlies. They had…" His voice dropped.

"What, Finn?" Amanda asked as they turned for the cafeteria, avoiding pockets of other students.

"Wings," he sighed. "They looked like bird's wings, somehow on their backs."

They took a seat at one of the far tables, the ones that were usually avoided by anyone caring about their reputation. Finn, however, was already admired – and despised, depending on whom you talked to – by his peers for being a DHI. Amanda was used to being an outcast, so it did little to bother her.

"If they had visible wings, than I doubt they were Fairlies," Amanda spoke in a hushed voice. "Usually Fairlies look no different from any other humans, they don't stand out."

Part of Finn wanted to tell Amanda how _she_ stood out to him, how she was no ordinary girl to him. But he was cut off when she asked, "Are you planning on actually eating lunch?"

Amanda's question seemed to jolt Finn out of his confused haze, "Lunch, uh, yeah." They rose from the table's benches and walked in silence to the lunch line.

As Amanda indifferently received a thick scoop of some slimy pasta, she turned towards Finn and whispered, "You don't think they could be _characters_, do you?"

He hadn't even thought of that. They were mere miles away from the parks complex, so it could be possible. Dragging his lunch tray along the metal counter, his brain searched for any memory of Disney characters with angel wings.

"Which direction were they going?" Amanda hated asking so many questions, but she was just as interested in these flying figures as Finn was.

"Away from my viewpoint, from the math hallway."

"So I think that's east," she concluded, "that's towards the parks."

If a bunch of flying human figures were headed in the direction of Walt Disney World, than this was no coincidence. The first thing to cross Finn's mind was: _Overtakers_.

Something strange was coming to the parks, and the Keepers would need to investigate.

**JESS:**

For most students, AP History wasn't the most exciting class, but Jess had always been intrigued. Her Fairlie power allowed her to see into the future – granted, at unexpected times and places – and yet she was still fascinated by the past. While the future was so uncertain, so infinite, she enjoyed the definite certainty of the past, knowing that what has happened will never change.

So while most students were barely awake, Jess was fascinated by the video on Ancient Mesopotamia that they were watching. Back in Maryland, at her old Fairlie home, Jess used books to escape from the investigative tests and studies made on the strange teenagers. She'd read about ancient civilizations, and now that knowledge brought her to the top of her AP class.

Her head rested in her hands as she sat in the back of the room with the rest of the quieter students. Long curls kept falling in her vision, and she batted them away from her face several times. Her wide eyes were trained on the projector screen, glued to a segment on rediscovered pottery shards.

Suddenly, Jess felt a strange ringing throughout her skull, and her eyes involuntarily flung shut. Behind her closed eyes, a sickening, spiraling montage of images spun in a whirl of color. She saw sputtering visions of the Parks, filled with guests and also very late at night. Attractions flickered by, looking sinister in the dark, and two faces. Her sight kept flickering between two faces: One was the worn, recognizable face of Wayne, the old Imagineer who personally mentored the Keepers. His bright blue eyes, peering out from beneath snowy white hair, could only belong to him.

But there was another face, one that Jess didn't recognize. It was a young girl with blonde curls and enormous, hypnotic eyes. She couldn't have been much older than six or seven, but she was captivating.

The vision shifted again, and it focused on Wayne long enough to Jess to make out a clearer image. His gaze was to the side, as though he was being taped at an angle addressing someone she couldn't see. When he spoke, his words were for her.

"_Our friends_ have amassed a formidable army," he said, implying _the Overtakers_, "but you do not have to fight this battle alone. They are on their way, I have seen them coming…"

Wayne was cut off by what sounded like radio static, and the girl appeared, speaking, "We can help you."

The geezer reappeared and continued, "Wait for the ones with wings. They are unpredictable. That is exactly what we all need."

Jess's eyes sprung open against her will. She was still in class, watching the history film. Her vision was gone, but the words of warning burned in her brain.


	3. Chapter 3

**MAX:**

Have you ever seen a rat running around in his cage, climbing through the little tubes and wheels that are supposed to make it fun for him? The rat knows he's a prisoner, and yet he still runs all over with a fat smile – or, if rats could smile, he _would_ be grinning – anyways?

Literally, that was us. Trapped in the Magic Kingdom, prancing from ride to ride while held entirely captive. My skin couldn't stop crawling.

By the late afternoon, the park had really filled up, and soon we were surrounded by eager visitors on all sides. I wanted to keep a low profile, to ride an attraction or two, and stick to the corners.

Unfortunately, _some_ members of our little party decided otherwise.

"That was _awesome_!" Gazzy shrieked, skipping down the exit ramp from Space Mountain. The moment his ratty-sneakered foot hit the concrete, he spun around towards the entrance. "Let's go again!"

"Not so fast, buddy," I grabbed him by the jacket collar, turning him away. "We really shouldn't cut all of those people again." The line for the roller coaster had been hundreds of people deep, but our mind-controlling six-year-old didn't want to wait. I felt bad for the poor worker at the front of the queue, probably still all dazed and confused from Angel's trick.

"Either that or someone's getting sick," Fang said, and he almost smirked too. Absolutely boiling over with emotion, that one.

I watched as five pairs of eyes – _six_, counting Total – glanced in my direction, and my cheeks became warmer. "I'm not getting sick, believe me."

"Really? You _do_ look a little pale," Iggy said, thinking he was so smart.

"Careful there," I warned, "Or you'll spend the rest of your Disneyworld trip on 'it's a small world'." And I really meant it too.

We reached the crowded "hub" area, in front of the castle. Even I had to admit, the thing was pretty breathtaking, and I've flown over New York City all lit up at night. This castle really looked like it was straight out of a fairytale.

Of course, I've never been one for fairytales.

Feeling a slight tug on my shirt, I glanced down to see Angel's saucer-sized eyes gazing back up at me. "Max," she began slowly, "Can we go on Splash Mountain?"

I sighed; of all the rides, why this one? "You'll get wet, sweetie."

"I know. Please? Pretty _pretty_ please?" I could feel the persuasive fingers of her powers prodding my brain, and I really hated to cave. But she was just so darn cute.

"Fine, Angel." I raised my voice. "Hear that, guys? Splash Mountain it is." I wasn't even sure if Angel would meet the height requirement, but I'm sure she would find a way to force her way onto the ride. None of us were quite worried about falling out of a ride; we come with a built-in soft landing.

Crossing the bridge into Frontierland, I watched Nudge and Gazzy race each other, weaving throughout a crowd of sunscreened little sausages – I mean, _tourists_. Iggy strolled along, walking our vest-wearing little Total while taking in the sounds and smells of the park. Angel ran to catch up with the younger kids, her little legs carrying her as quickly as they could.

"Max," I heard Fang's voice behind me, cool and void of emotion.

"Yeah?"

"You're on edge." Well thank you, Captain Obvious.

My head whipped around to face him. "And why shouldn't I be nervous? We're trapped in this giant playground of smiles and fun times, sitting ducks to any Eraser who buys a park ticket. This whole place is probably rigged up with cameras, and the Whitecoats will likely know our exact location in a matter of minutes. Remind me again why we're here?"

Fang pointed to the rest of the flock, crossing the threshold into Frontierland. "That's why we're here, Max. Because these guys are still kids, and every now and then we should let them _be_ kids."

There was something heavy in his words, and I knew he was right. Dang it. "Yeah," I sighed, "I know."

"Just, don't let them see it. That you're nervous." He still kept his voice low.

I nodded, hurrying to catch up with the rest of the flock. We rounded a corner, and the towering man-made form of Splash Mountain came into view. I could hear the giddy screams of riders all the way from here, and the satisfying crash into the water at the end. Quite honestly, I wasn't looking forward to getting wet.

"Excuse me, miss," came a voice from behind me. It wasn't Fang, I was sure of that. "You dropped one of your park passes."

"Oh, thanks," I said, wary. I checked my left pocket, counting four park passes. Then my right, counting… two. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I spun around.

An alarmingly handsome man held out a park ticket in his outstretched hand, the image of Donald printed on the front. He seemed all friendly and smiles, until I could see how every one of his teeth ended in a sharp, canine point.

"Guys," I called to the rest of the flock. "_Run_!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Oops! Didn't realize how long it's been since I've updated. Oh well, silly little things called "obligations" always getting in the way, :P**

**BTW: In case I hadn't mentioned it before (and I don't think I have) this takes place after "Kingdom Keepers: Disney in Shadow" and somewhere in the middle/end of "School's Out, Forever". Any couple pairings that haven't been mentioned at those points in the storylines may or may not be used here, depending on how they work out for me. (I don't own the rights to any of these characters, hence: _Fanfiction_)**

**Enjoy! :)**

**FINN:**

"Listen, Jess was very clear in the email, she knows she saw Wayne," said Finn, arms crossed and leaning back in his desk chair. He was sitting at his desk at home, Jess's recent email open on his phone with a Skype conference call open on his laptop screen. Four faces – ranging from curious to distracted – stared back at him.

"But doesn't Jess usually see visions of the future?" asked Charlene, her screen showing her crashed on a round pink beanbag chair. "So how do we know that this is so urgent? She could be seeing something that won't matter to us for weeks."

"Yes, the vision didn't give any indication of the time," muttered Philby. His eyes darted around behind the camera, making it obvious that he had several windows open at once, and that he was multi-tasking.

Willa had printed out Jess's email, and held it in her hands. "It says '_Wait _for the ones with wings. But how long?"

Finn shifted in his chair. "We can assume that Wayne was involved in this, but we really have no way to contact him. I've left several messages with Wanda, but she's not picking up." Ever since the recent incident with Wayne in Epcot and Hollywood Studios, the old man had been extremely hard to find. The only time any Keeper heard from him was when _he_ approached _them_.

Maybeck looked skeptical, "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

Finn shrugged, "I think it's worth a shot."

Maybeck's brow furrowed. "Finn, you know crossing over isn't like it used to be. It used to be fun and crazy and all, when we could roam around the Parks and only worry that someone might see us. Now, it's feeling like life and death out there."

Charlene pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around snugly. The others could see her yellow plush Minnie Mouse slippers in the camera's frame now. "I actually think it might be worth a shot, just to see if we could find Wayne. If we cross over, maybe he'll make a point of actually showing up."

Willa returned to the printed email. "Jess said she saw all sorts of images from inside the Parks, but most of them seemed to be of Magic Kingdom. Maybe we start there?"

Philby's fingers clacked at his keyboard, still split between several tasks. "Would we be crossing over Amanda and Jess too?"

"No," Finn said slowly. "Jess should get a full night's sleep, in case she sees any other visions during the night. And Amanda would probably want to stay with her, so let it be just the five of us for now."

Philby's eyes finally focused directly into the webcam. "So that's a definite then. We're crossing over?"

Four pairs of eyes stared expectantly through Finn's screen, waiting for their leader to make the call. He swallowed and nodded. "Yes, yes we are."

**MAX:**

"Go go GO!" I shouted at the others, their faces showing wide-eyed surprise. We made a run for it, weaving around the general flow of the public. Seriously, you would've thought we were professional stuntsmen, the way we darted around families and jumped over – yes, _over_ – strollers.

The funny thing is how most people reacted. Some ignored us completely, while others _oohed_ and gasped like we were all part of some choreographed street show. Yes, because the look of panic on our faces really was just some masterful acting. Right.

Cheery building facades blurred by, and I just focused on outrunning the stunningly-handsome man behind me. When my head whipped around for the slightest moment, I saw how two other Erasers had fallen into line behind him, and I sped up.

Nudge saw it first, the great brown double doors opening up to our right. An oblivious worker stepped out of those monstrous doors, each bearing a sign: CAST MEMBERS ONLY. Perfect.

"Nudge!" I cried out, and she understood. That bushy head of brown curls hung right, slipping behind the doors before the now-terrified worker could think to shut them. Thankfully, we were all too quick for the startled woman.

Of course, so were the Erasers.

Now, here's the Disney World you don't see every day, with its nondescript backstage buildings and tired-looking employees shuffling around just out of the public's sight. Wish I could've seen more of it, really, but I was too busy running for my life.

As we rounded a corner, I gave a quick head-check. Nudge in front, tears rolling down red cheeks. Gazzy holding Iggy's hand as they ran in tandem. Total burrowed somewhere in Angel's arms. Fang just a pace in front of me, glancing back at the Erasers behind with even-darker eyes. All accounted for.

"Liftoff, Max?" called Gazzy, a whimper of fear in his voice.

"Ten o'clock," I responded, indicating the blockish electrical units to our left. They were low enough to jump on top of, but high enough to provide ample room to take off from.

With a new energy in my sprint, I followed my flock towards the units, watching Nudge reach first. Her wide wings extended outwards, lifting her up in the air. Next went Angel, then Gazzy and Iggy. As Fang kicked off, I jumped onto the unit behind him.

I miscalculated, landing at an awkward angle and sliding back a few inches. It wasn't enough to knock me off the metal surface, but it cost me a few precious seconds to scramble back up. The Erasers were too quick, and by the time I'd risen from my knees to lift off, I could hear their all-too-clear snarls from behind me.

Gone were their human appearances, they were foaming at the mouth by now, sharpened teeth bared.

I opened my wings to kick off, jumping off of the unit. Just as my feet left the metal…

Something went terribly wrong. A searing, burning pain erupted on my left side, extending from the lowest corner of my wing all the way to the side of my thigh. Even as I watched the air around me splatter with tiny red droplets, my sluggish brain couldn't put two-and-two together.

I was flying, no, struggling to fly only feet off of the ground. I couldn't find my balance, and the searing pain began to throb like hell. My vision turned red, and I started to sink.

Vaguely, I remember Fang and Iggy grabbing me on either side and dragging me through the air. Trees whipped at my face as we sank dangerously low.

The last thing I recall was the how unforgiving the ground feels when you hit it as such high speeds.

Damn.


End file.
